The
Open Cirrus Association Newsletter
http://207.149.139.40/default.htm
(NOTE NEW URL FOR WEBSITE!!)
Volume V, Issue 3
September, 2000
NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS!
I
am delighted to report that the Soaring Society of America, in support of our
efforts to promote improved safety and operations of older gliders, granted
permission to host our Cirrus website on their server!
This change permits a dramatic expansion in the amount of material we can
make available, and appears to operate considerably faster than the two servers
that we were using. We are
extremely grateful to Mr. Larry Sanderson and Mike Culver for their generosity.
Return to Snail Mail
After
only one issue being missed, we’ve decided that we need to return to a limited
run of snail mail issues of the Newsletter.
While there are many readers of the web version, it’s not clear that
important information will be available in a timely manner to all Cirrus
owner/pilots. We still have a
significant fund of contributions for postage; however, with this issue we’ll
begin to add a few of the more active contributors who live outside North
America to the list, which will increase postage costs.
We’ll see how long the current fund lasts, but look out for a
solicitation for help in the future.
YU-4228 (Serial Number??) 
Rade Minic <Tane [tane@cg.yu>
Niksic, Montenegro
Mail Bag
REQUEST
FOR HELP –
Weight Problem
From Simon Smith <SSmith3508@aol.com>
Can you help me with a problem I have encountered? 108 is heavier than it should
be and weighs 695lbs. This means the maximum cockpit weight is only 190lbs. As
much as I try to diet I have not been below 195lbs for some time and Alan, my
syndicate partner, at 6' 2" weighs at least the same. By the time we add a
parachute we have quite a problem. 108 appears to have increased in weight in
1996 following the application of a new gel coat. Although there is not a lot I
can do about the current weight do you know of anybody else having had a similar
problem, and if so, how did they overcome it. I have been told that I can apply
to the British Gliding Association for a dispensation to have the maximum
cockpit weight increased but will probably have to have the category changed to
non-aerobatic and no cloud flying. Do you think this is acceptable and would it
have an impact on resale value?
I have seen a broken Cirrus on the back of a trailer at The Soaring Centre, Husbands Bosworth. Next time I'm there I'll find out the serial number and get back to you.
For
your records the BGA number of 108 is now 4773 and has a tail registration of
JTS.
REQUEST
FOR HELP
– Ballast Dump Problem
From Alan Jenkins,
< judgeright@aajenk.prestel.co.uk> No. 10
September, 2000
I experienced a problem with water ballast. Whilst fettling one morning I
managed to disconnect the horizontal control rod which emerges from the root of
the wing from the internal connection with the dump valve mechanism. I managed
to re-locate the control rod so that when one turns the crank on the horizontal
control rod the valve duly opens and springs closed. But the connection is not
secure and it is possible to pull the control rod out and disconnect it from the
dump valve end of the system. The horizontal control rod when pushed fully home
does not rest flush up against the bush attached to the root end. There is a gap
of about 5mm. On the other side the gap is negligible. Can you advise me about
the internal connection between the horizontal control rod and the internal
mechanism? Is it possible to
connect the two without breaking into the wing root? Any advice would be most
welcome.
From
Malcolm McCullie :
<clarem@wise.net.nz>
I'm the proud new owner of Open Cirrus s/n 20, registered as ZK-GVZ in New
Zealand. Previous owner was Paul Buchanan who owns P.B.Engineering at Hood
Aerodrome in Masterton. GVZ is the end result of a rebuild from s/n 20 ZK-GFZ
and s/n 68 ZK-GFV. Paul did the rebuild and would be in a better position to
give you a story on it. The fuselage and horizontal stabilizer from s/n 20 and
the wings, ailerons, rudder and elevators from s/n 68, the remainder of which is
resting in the rafters of Paul's hangar.
I
came across your site while researching the Cirrus and was pleasantly surprised
to find out that I actually purchased a classic glider, which I will be looking
after real nicely. So far, I've only had 11 aero tow launches in it and have
found it to be a pleasure to fly in all respects, although I still need to try
out a landing with the chute . . . read the article on chute release problems,
so will make sure I'm ready for any unwanted events.
Malcolm
McCullie
Claremont Motels Limited
38 Regent Street
Martinborough
South Wairarapa
New Zealand
Phone/Fax: 64 6 306 9162
http://www.claremont-motels.co.nz
From
Ken Basterfield
< ken@basterfield.com>, No. 99,
August 2000
I notice from the first issue of the newsletter a reference* to Derek Piggott
saying that the Open Cirrus was the ideal first glass glider.
No. 99 was the OC from which he gathered this opinion. There is a
reference in my technical log.
*See “Gliding
Safety”, by Derek Piggott, A&C Black, 1991, page 103
A Couple of Accident/Safety Issues!
From
Paul Buchanan paul_buchanan@xtra.co.nz,
who writes on August 26, 2000 from New Zealand:
1.
The Canterbury Gliding club based at Christchurch in the south island owned No.
68 (ZK-GFV) then until its accident on the 01/01/83 with a total of 1765 hrs.
The note in the logbook note states that the glider landed inverted!! The
accident was due to a pilot getting an aerotow retrieve from an airstrip that
had long grass on it. As he rolled on takeoff, he caught a wing and groundlooped
but was going fast enough to get the thing inverted before hitting the ground
and landing upside down. No damage to the pilot. Glider fuse badly damaged but
wings only minor stuff.
Back in the late seventies a club pilot was flying it from his home base in Westerly wave conditions (which we get a fair bit of down here) and hit some bad rotor turbulence. He was rolled nearly inverted and then slammed the right way up again bur during it badly damaged his back.
He
flew back to the airfield and had to be assisted from the glider and was sent to
hospital with bad spinal injuries. The cause was put down to by the feds as the
straps not being tight enough and when the pilot tried to do them up all he
could tighten was the shoulder part. The lap straps where pulled up his chest
allowing his lower back to basically be unrestrained. After this the club
installed a better harness system that you can pull on the lap strap better and
turned it into a five point harness which is now in VZ.
[Editor’s Note: the poor strap position in the Cirrus has long been
worrisome because in most of them the “lap belt” actually comes over the
chest! Anyone with details on a
“fix” for this? I’m sure many owners would be interested!]
2.
No. 20 (ZK-GVZ) was
crashed late 1973 by a pilot on a 300km attempt. He stalled and spun it down a
ravine trying to land in a paddock. It came to rest with it suspended on both
wings about 6 ft from the rocky creek bed. Pilot Ok. He still is involved with
gliding today at the age of nearly 80. He told me after I got ZK-GVZ flying that
they spun really badly which I discounted after spinning it a few times
intentionally. A half turn and when you relax the controls she would recover. I
had some height to spare one day and was goofing off. I decided to hold her for
a couple of turns and then recover. The first turn was as normal but as the
second started the nose pitched down even further and when I relaxed the
controls nothing happened. I then pushed positive elevator to get the nose to
pitch even further down and it recovered as normal. This gave me a hell of a
surprise. The tailplane feels like it gets blanketed by the fuse or wings or
fully stalls. I notice that the USA TC does not allow spinning in the Cirrus and
I can see why. A fully developed spin with a light pilot could get interesting
real fast.